President Trump to visit Pennsylvania, but not Berks County

The White House press secretary initially said Trump was coming to Hamburg. Later, the White House said he's going to the Harrisburg area.

Written by Reading Eagle

President Donald Trump is planning to come to Pennsylvania next week but contrary to earlier reports, he isn’t coming to Berks County.At the White House news briefing Friday afternoon, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders indicated Trump would be coming to Berks County to tout his tax reform plan.“He will be visiting Hamburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, and we’ll have more details on that trip coming soon,” Sanders said.But the president is heading to Pennsylvania, but not Hamburg.Late Friday afternoon, the White House press office told the Reading Eagle that Trump is visiting the Harrisburg area.Details of Trump’s trip, including the nature next week’s visit — a rally or a stop at a business — will not be officially released until Monday or Tuesday, the White House press office said. Berks County would have been a good place for a Trump visit, said Dr. G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College.“His base is small-town Pennsylvania, small-town Iowa, small-town Ohio,” Madonna said. “Berks County went for Trump. He’s got a lot of working class voters. This is his base … you need to hold on to your base and try to expand it. He is having trouble expanding it.”“Anywhere he goes, he gets a plethora of coverage,” Madonna said.Berks County played a substantial role in Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Berks County by about 18,000 votes. In 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney edged President Barack Obama by only 1,000 votes in Berks. Obama won the Keystone State on the way to his re-election in 2012.Trump visited Pennsylvania numerous times during the campaign. He was the first Republican presidential candidate to win the Keystone State since George H.W. Bush won Pennsylvania in 1988.In April, Trump spoke at a rally before a packed crowd at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg to commemorate his 100th day in office.In December, he appeared in Hershey as part of his victory tour after the election. He spoke to an estimated crowd of 12,000 at the Giant Center and thanked voters for enabling him to win the Keystone State. Trump didn’t visit Berks County during the presidential campaign. However, Vice President Mike Pence visited Reading and also attended a private fundraiser in Wyomissing in October 2016.